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A Resource Based Contextual Planning Methodology and its Strategic Indicators Assessment Information System for Higher Education Institutions

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(2) METODOLOGIA DE PLANEACION CONTEXTUAL BASADA EN RECURSOS Y SU SISTEMA DE INFORMACION DE INDICADORES ESTRATEGICOS PARA INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACION SUPERIOR. DOCTORADO EN INFORMATICA ESPECIALIDAD EN SISTEMAS DE INFORMACION. INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO Y DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DE MONTERREY. POR NORMA FRIDA ROFFE SAMANIEGO. DICffiMBRE DEL 2000.

(3) METODOLOGÍA DE PLANEACIÓN CONTEXTUAL BASADA EN RECURSOS Y SU SISTEMA DE INFORMACIÓN DE INDICADORES ESTRATÉGICOS PARA INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR. TESIS. DOCTORADO EN INFORMÁTICA ESPECIALIDAD EN SISTEMAS DE INFORMACIÓN. INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO Y DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DE MONTERREY. POR NORMA FRIDA ROFFE SAMANIEGO. DICIEMBRE DEL 2000.

(4) A Resource-Based Contextual-Planning Methodology and its Strategic Indicators Assessment Information System for Higher Education Institutions. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with specialty in Information Systems at Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Campus Monterrey.. By. Norma Frida Roffe Samaniego Bachelor of Electronic Systems ITESM, 1981 Master of Information Systems ITESM, 1986. Fall Semester 2000 ITESM, Campus Monterrey Monterrey, N.L., Mexico.

(5) INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO Y DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DE MONTERREY. DIVISIÓN DE ELECTRÓNICA, COMPUTACIÓN, INFORMACIÓN Y COMUNICACIONES PROGRAMA DE GRADUADOS EN ELECTRÓNICA, COMPUTACIÓN, INFORMACIÓN Y COMUNICACIONES Los miembros del comité de tesis recomendamos que la presente tesis de Norma Frida Roffe Samaniego sea aceptada como requisito parcial para obtener el grado de Doctor en Informática con especialidad en Sistemas de Información. Comité de tesis:. ____. J&¿UA. Dr. Germán Otálora Bay. Dr. Gerald Gaither. Asesor principal. Asesor. //D/joaq íriVila. Dr^sé. Asesor/. Asesor. caza Acerato. ODr. David A. Al. Dávila. Asesor. DrrCarlos Scheel Mayeriberger Director del Programa de Graduados en Electrónica, Computación, Información y Comunicaciones.

(6) Acknowledgements. My respect, admiration, and gratitude to Dr. German Otalora, whose wisdom and commitment to truth has guided this study and has shaped my formation. His teachings are going to be with me forever. My deepest gratitude to... Dr. Gerald Gaither. I will always appreciate his guidance and support to the internationalization and diffusion of the study and the dedication of his valuable time and resources. My Information Systems advisors, Dr. Joaqufn Vila, Dr Jose Icaza and Dr. David Alanis, without their knowledge, guidance and expert orientation, this study would not have been possible. Lie. Veronica Lingow, for her positive critics, for the time spent in reading and correcting the manuscript, and for her professional advice. Ing. Patricio Lopez, for supporting the start of this thesis and encouraging me to continue the project. Dr. Rafael Rangel and Dr. Hector Moreira, who trusted in my realization of this project. I will always be proud and grateful for having been able to count on them for their support and advice. I have been very lucky..

(7) Dedication A mi hermosa familia Arturo, Michelle y Denisse. A mis papas Nessim y Hortensia. A mis hermanos Alfredo, Hilda, Alberto, Fernando, Hortensia y Ruben. A Lucy, porayudarme cuando mas lo necesitaba..

(8) VII. Table of Contents Page LIST OF TABLES. XI. LIST OF FIGURES. XII. ABSTRACT. ............................................................................................~..................^^. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION. 1. CHAPTER 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM. 4. CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE REVIEW. .... .. .. 11. 3.1 FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIVE OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 11. 3.1.1 Historical Background of Higher Education. 12. 3.1.2 Some Aspects of Mexico and its Education. 13. 3.1.3 Relationship between Higher Education and the Development of a Country. 23. 3.1.4 Fundamental Objective of a University: Summary. 25. 3.1.5 The Objectives of Higher Education in Mexico. 26. 3.2 DEFINING MISSION AND VISION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. 35. 3.2.1 What Becomes Necessary to Accomplish Academic Objectives?. 41. 3.2.2 Sources of Vision and Mission, a Brief Review. 43. 3.3 STRATEGY, COMPETITION AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE CONCEPTS. 46. 3.3.1 Nature of Strategy. 47. 3.3.2 Strategy in Business. 49. 3.3.3Would it be Adequate for Universities to Adopt the Concept of Strategy as well as Strategic Management?. 52. 3.3.4 Would it be Proper to Use the Strategy Concept in the Educational Field?. 55. 3.3.5 The Competition between Universities and the Information Technology. 58.

(9) VIII. 3.4 THE RESOURCE-BASED APPROACH. 59. 3.4.1 Formulation of Strategies for the Profit Oriented Sector. 61. 3.4.2 Adapting the Resource-Based Approach for the Higher Education Field. 67. 3.5 PLANNING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. 85. 3.5.1 Definition of Terms. 86. 3.5.2 Aspects that Explain Planning in Higher Education. 86. 3.5.3 Differing Organizational Theories. 88. 3.5.4 History of Higher Education Planning Viewed by the Kind of Planning Method Utilized. 90. 3.5.5 Educational Planning History through Four Eras. 91. 3.5.6 Review of diverse planning methods for higher education institutions. 97. 3.5.7 General Considerations About an Ideal Method of Planning. 104. 3.6 SOCIAL JUSTIFICATION FOR THE EVALUATION OF UNIVERSITIES. 107. 3.7 ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. 112. 3.7.1 Overall Quality "Accreditation Standard of Quality". 116. 3.7.2 Mission/Goal Attainment "Institutional Effectiveness". 125. 3.7.3 Educational and Cognitive Results (Students) "Student and Learning Outcomes ".. 143. 3.7.4 Application of Assessment Systems in some Representative Countries. 160. 3.8 STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (SIS). 173. 3.8.1 Reasons that Impede the Construction ofEIS in Higher Education Institutions. 175. 3.8.2 The Design of an EIS. 776. 3.8.3 The Design of a SIS. 179. 3.8.4 Conceptual Framework for Higher Education Institutions. 181. 3.8.5 Proposed Conceptual Framework for this Dissertation. 181. CHAPTER 4 THE RESOURCE-BASED CONTEXTUAL PLANNING APPROACH 4.1. THEORETICAL BASIS. 183 184. 4.1.1. Environmental Relationship. 185. 4.1.2. First Assumption. 186. 4.1.3. Second Assumption. 187.

(10) IX. 4.1.4. Third Assumption. 187. 4.1.5. Fourth Assumption. 190. 4.2. DETERMINING THE VISION, MISSION AND STRATEGIC PLAN: THE METHODOLOGY. CHAPTER 5 THE METHODOLOGY TO DEFINE STRATEGIC INDICATORS 5.1. METHODOLOGY OF DESIGN. 191. 195 198. 5.1.1. WorkTeam. 198. 5.1.2. Steps of the Methodology. 198. CHAPTER 6 METHODOLOGY TO DEFINE THE STRATEGIC INDICATORS ASSESSMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. GENERAL ASPECTS ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY. 207 207. 6.1.1. The Assessment Governing Body. 209. 6.1.2. Application of the Assessment Instruments. 210. 6.1.3. Confidentiality. 210. 6.1.4. Who Manages the Computational System?. 211. 6.1.5. The Complete Organization. 212. 6.1.6. Who are the System Users?. 213. 6.1.7. Data Structure. 213. 6.1.8. Operating Modes. 215. 6.1.9. Operating the System. 216. THE METHODOLOGY. 216. 6.2.1. Activities Related with the Developing of the System. 217. 6.2.2. Preparing the Operation of the System. 223. RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THE COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEM. 224. CHAPTER 7 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESOURCE-BASED CONTEXTUAL PLANNING METHODOLOGY. 226. 7.1. GROUPS CONSULTED. 227. 7.2. How THE CONSULTATION OCCURRED. 227.

(11) X. 7.2.1. The Survey Design. 229. 7.2.2. The Methodology. 230. 7.2.3. The Survey Content. 230. 7.2.4. Steps of the Consulting Stages. 231. 13. THE CONSULTING STAGES AND THEIR SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS. 232. 7.4. STATISTICAL DATA PROCESSING. 234. 7.4.7 7.5. Differences Calculus. 234. RESULTS OF THE CONSULTATION PROCESS. 235. 7.5.1. Synthesis of the Results. 236. 7.5.2. Results derived from the strategic plan implementation. 239. 7.5.3. Lessons Learned. 240. 7.5.4. Conclusions. 241. CHAPTER 8 SET OF STRATEGIC INDICATORS. 243. CHAPTER 9 PROTOTYPE OF THE STRATEGIC INDICATORS ASSESSMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM. .... 244. CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSIONS 10.1. 264. DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH. 265. APPENDIX A. 267. APPENDIX B. 339. APPENDIX C. 340. REFERENCES. 363. VITA. .. .... .. .. ........ 380.

(12) XI. List of Tables Page. Table 1. Literature review content based on the theoretical part of the thesis framework Table 2. Strategy paradigms during the ages. 11 67. Table 3. Kinds of evaluations carried out in higher education. 115. Table 4. A typology to classify institutional outcomes assessment.. 116.

(13) xu. List of Figures Page Figure 1. Proposed relations between the university and the two levels of environment.. 186. Figure 2. Dimension 1 of definition of academic objectives. 189. Figure 3. Dimension 2 of definition of academic objectives. 189. Figure 4. The resource-based contextual planning methodology.. 193. Figures. The resource-based contextual-planning and assessing model. 196. Figure 6. The university operation's model.. 197. Figure 7. Supporting organization for the implementation of the resource-based assessment system. 210. Figure 8. Complete supporting organizational structure. 212. Figure 9. Assessment instruments storage. 213. Figure 10. Strategic indicator retrieval.. 214. Figure 11. Cube that represents the strategic indicators data structure. 214. Figure 12. Scheme of the hierarchical organization of ITESM. 215. Figure 13. Supporting network for the consultation process. 228.

(14) Xlll. Abstract. This thesis proposes a strategic planning approach entitled resource-based contextual planning methodology and belongs to the category of contextual planning, because its intention is to direct the university to influence the development of its country.. The resource-based approach is adopted because of the. dissertation premise that resources and their relations are the nucleus of the university's performance. This methodology is directed to a mission formulation and its strategic plan. The mission and plan formulation is based on stakeholders' consultation. The structure of the mission is very specific and encourages the definition of clear academic objectives. This methodology was implemented in 1995 at Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM), a large multicampus university system in Mexico. The mission and strategic plan derived from this implementation are in operation at this time and have lead to important institutional transformations. A methodology to design a resource-based assessment information system based on strategic indicators is also proposed, as part of the planning methodology implementation. The assessment system is for providing feedback to the action plan, allowing its refinement. A prototype was developed in order to show the functionality of this system. This work contributes to planning for higher education methodologies, and assessment information systems for higher education. Both parts together, the planning methodology that conducts to the definition of objective and the assessment system that allows the correction of the plan represents a unique approach to planning in higher education..

(15) Chapter 1 Introduction. Higher education is a very complex process, because of the diversity of resources interacting and because it is directed towards the education of professionals attempting to influence the course of individual lives. Therefore, those institutions that consider these as their principal function also exhibit very complex characteristics. A relevant role of universities is as producers of professionals and generators of knowledge. Indeed, they constitute the principal source of the professional labor force of a country (Husen, 1991). For this reason, and for activities they may engage in, such as research and continuing education, universities should have a direct influence on the development of a country. This dissertation focused on the design of a planning methodology for a university aimed to conduct strategies to make the university have a significant impact on the country, where it is placed, by using their valuable resources to their maximum extent. According to D'Hainaut (1988) the effects of an educational system should be manifested in a change of "status" in: The environment, the students and, the system itself. This idea inspires the principle on which the planning method that this thesis proposes is based, which states that higher educational institutions must have an impact on the environment through graduates and their own actions. Only with this conviction is it possible to plan to accomplish the proposed fundamental objective of the university: to contribute to the progress of its nation. The concept of having an impact on the environment belongs to an approach on planning denominated contextual planning by Peterson (1997).. Besides, the change in the system itself should be visible in. organizational learning, expressed in terms of the development of organizational capabilities. This last idea underlies the use of the resource-based approach in the proposed planning method. Contextual planning is.

(16) reviewed in section 3.5 while the resource-based approach is the theme of Section 3.4. A relevant part of this thesis is the development of a strategic information system based on a strategy to assess the achievement of the strategic goals stated for the institution that applies the proposed method. Due to the importance and complexity of higher education and these institutions, it is a great challenge to contribute knowledge in these fields. The resource-based contextual planning methodology was implemented at Mexico's Institute Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), as a case study. ITESM is a private 27-campus nationwide university system, with approximately 80,000 students to date. The proposed goal is for the conceptual plan derived from this methodology to extend through the year 2005, helping ITESM bring about the necessary changes to respond to the numerous challenges presented by Mexican society and higher education in the new high technology based millennium. The implementation of the method across some 27 campuses required a broad-based consultation procedure with stakeholders. Both, the current ITESM's mission and its corresponding strategic plan are products of the implementation of this planning method. The strategic information system of strategic indicators prototype, also product of this thesis constitutes a proposal for evaluating the effectiveness in the accomplishment of the mission, as well as the strategic plan. This thesis is divided in three main parts. Chapter 2 Statement of the problem, and Chapter 3 Literature review representing the theoretical framework. Chapter 4 The resource-based contextual planning method, Chapter 5 Methodology to define strategic indicators for a university and, Chapter 6 Methodology to define an information system of strategic indicators are the theoretical contribution of this dissertation. Chapter 7 Implementation of the resource-based contextual planning method, Chapter 8 Set of strategic indicators and, Chapter 9 Prototype of the information system of strategic indicators compile the results of the application of the planning method in the case study. Finally, Chapter 10 describes the conclusions of the dissertation. The following chapter, Chapter 3 Literature review includes the topics required to construct the theoretical contribution, which are: fundamental objective of higher education; defining mission and vision.

(17) statements for higher education; strategy, competition and competitive advantage concepts. The resource-based approach; planning for higher education and social justification for the evaluation of universities and finally assessment systems for higher education and strategic information systems. The author considers that the structure of the mission, the planning method and the kind of assessment system defined by an information system of strategic indicators cover research niches in their corresponding fields of knowledge..

(18) Chapter 2 Statement of the Problem To improve the education, health and nutrition conditions of the population of a country full of social inequalities and unfair income through a better utilization of the resources, has been the main concern for a large part of the increasing critical thinking population. The current reality demands research to be done in order to find possibilities and make rigorous proposals to attend these increasing concerns. The author considers that universities are significant resources that could contribute to the improvement of the aforementioned conditions. This is because of the following arguments: •. Universities constitute the basic source of the professional labor force for a country (Husen, 1991). This labor force represents the human capital with which organizations count on to be productive. Besides, by educating students to be conscious of the social and economic reality and by being committed to work towards improving conditions, universities could play a significant role for a better society.. •. Universities have together outstanding intellectual resources that could be not only transmitting knowledge but generating it. This thesis defends that knowledge is not only a professional activity, it is, above all, a cultural model (Touraine, 1972) and universities may be responsible for its development or its creation. On one hand, it states that research should be the source of new knowledge and the basis for a competitive productive sector of the economy, representing an investment that brings about greater benefits than only importing and transferring technology and knowledge. On the other hand, the university may promote and carry out the values that give identity and dignity to a country, as well as determine and carry out the factors that allow a sustainable development.. These factors include aspects on health, culture, and ecology,. contributing not only to the economic but also to the social improvement of its host country..

(19) The line of thought that supports these arguments is the one defended by authors as Husen (1991), Touraine (1972) and Tedesco (1989) that state that the importance of universities lies in their role as producers of professionals and generators of knowledge. Besides, public universities constitute a significant expense for the government and the taxpayers of a country, as do private universities for parents or patrons. This also calls to consider universities as valuable resources in which maintenance cost must be justified by yielding positive results, particularly in developing countries (Tedesco, 1989) where economic and financial crises affect society and the state, demanding that universities produce a skilled labor force, and useful research and extension. In this sense, such a cost could be viewed as an investment required for the development of a country (Zuniga, 1994). Up to now it has not been proven that higher education represents neither a factor of social mobility (Prawda, 1987), because in general, people who receives higher education are the ones that already have a certain economic position, nor of economic or social development. As Paulsen (1996) comments, the increase of personal productivity after receiving higher education is hard to be demonstrated for certain kinds of jobs. Florax (1992, cited by Stokes, 1996) separates the economic impacts of universities into "expenditure impacts" and "knowledge impacts". The expenditure impact represents the local expenditure of the university, which is easy to demonstrate, because it refers to the use of regional resources and the employment generated, but which is not the one having an impact on development. Knowledge impacts are the consequences of the production of knowledge at a university. Stokes (1996) argues that alumni are contributing during their entire life, so following them up is an impossible study and the knowledge acquired by alumni coming from the university alone is hard to isolate. Related with the new knowledge, Stokes (1996) states that simple indicators can be proposed, like the number of new patents, but what matters is not this number, but what it is done with them. Even with the difficulty of demonstrating the impact, the author considers that universities could have an important incidence on the progress of a country. To reinforce it by redirecting the objectives of the universities, and strategically managing them toward the achievement of these objectives with the aid of an automated information system of strategic indicators, is the proposal of this thesis..

(20) Summarizing, universities have been chosen by the author as the element of study, because of their feasible impact on the progress of a country. Additionally, the complexity of universities makes this kind of organization and their related fields, challenging research niches. The term "complexity" is used because inside universities a variety of actors interact with multiple processes attempting to influence the course of the students lives by transmitting in them, on purpose or not, some skills, attitudes and values in order to convert them into professionals or into more educated people. Their complexity is also related with the fact that no standard or optimal procedures have been determined as the ones that guarantee that higher education is performed correctly. In viewing higher education as a system, it could be concluded that it has a big number of subsystems and relations between them influence the outcome of the entire process. The arguments presented in the previous paragraph intend to show that universities, by themselves, offer an excellent basis for research. But, in addition, because of the undoubted importance of universities inside a nation, any research effort that can be done to propose a course of action towards having a greater impact on the improvement of the living conditions of the population, might be valuable. In addition, research efforts for improving their efficiency and effectiveness in supporting the development of a country may represent a priority. One of the main characteristics that surround higher education is the lack of clear academic objectives (D'Hainaut, 1988). In general, institutional missions are vague, too broad and rarely clear (Cawelti, 1987, cited by Speth, 1988). Consequently, the lack of objectives makes accountability a serious problem for universities because the members are not directed towards the same goal; therefore, they do not know what they are accountable for. This fact also may cause the lack of financial support and funding, particularly in public universities. This real problem in higher education could be transformed in an excellent research field opportunity given that a planning model is required to gear the definition of clear measurable objectives focused on: •. Directing the institution to contribute to the development of its host country..

(21) •. Optimizing utilization of resources.. •. Transforming the teaching-learning process to respond to the stakeholders demands.. This thesis will present the design of a planning method that fulfills these expectations, attending at the same time the concerns stated at the beginning of this section. This method will be centered in the formulation of a mission statement that concentrates the objectives of the university, established in a clear way and the method will take into account the participation of the main stakeholders of the institution in the objectives formulation process. In addition, after a deep literature review about planning methods for universities, methods that include the fundamental objectives and the role in society of universities and higher education were not encountered. Therefore, the need for planning methods in universities was reinforced as an interesting research niche. Nevertheless, planning is not enough to ensure that plans get accomplished. A machine that is called for an accurate operation requires a control loop that compares its current output with the expected one to feedback its process in order to correct it. In education, as stated, there are not optimal formulas to perform the basic functions, teaching-learning, research or extension. That is why, as in the case of the machine, a control loop is required to measure the function's output aiming to feedback the input as well as the processes. However, the problem in the worldwide higher education assessment movement arises when one asks: What measured parameters (or attributes) should be the expected ones as the functions' output? So, the question is: What to measure? (Banta and Borden, 1994). The measuring function should be part of the planning method assessment system. During the literature review, no connections, conceptual or practical were found between planning methods and assessment systems. This gap is causing problems in adopting assessment systems concepts. The literature proposes questions about what to measure and the author considers that these questions should be made from the planning perspective..

(22) The planning method that this thesis proposes solves this problem by directing the clear definition of academic objectives, translated into characteristics that should be observed as the university's products, and by incorporating an assessment system as the closing loop of the planning process. For this dissertation, the only way to guarantee that the university is meeting an important role in the development of society is by measuring its performing. For the relevant role that a university must play in a country, it needs and deserves resources to perform a very conscious action of continuously measuring. Measuring is a way to determine if an institution has reached indeed its goals, allowing the opportune correction of actions in case of discrepancies (Meyerson and Johnson, 1994). The function of measuring offers the institution the opportunity to be accountable to society, also to be located in the desired position, and to verify if its objectives are achieved. It does not allow the institutional mission to become merely a speech or an ornament, but leads to its fulfillment. In addition, adequate measuring provides information to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in achieving objectives. A measuring by-product should be the unified action of the academic community towards the achievement of common goals. This would lead to a more effective and efficient use of resources —human as well as material. Measuring should have a positive impact in the outputs, because of an inherent effect in the processes, and due to the feedback effect. Definitively, Information Technology has the ideal tools to ensure that the measurement results could be optimally used by an institution. That is because making measurement results easily available to the organization's members could minimize bureaucracy. Information technology also allows the institution to have different views of the information, some synthetic, some analytic, leading to different decision making and feedback: global and specific. The use of Information Technology in supporting that measurement management would allow a better feedback and an efficient demonstration of accountability, enhancing the measuring effects. During the literature review, very little information was found related with strategic use of information or strategic information systems for higher education, as it is exposed in section 3.8. Therefore, the analysis and design of the strategic information system that is presented in this thesis enriches the Information Technology literature concerning this field..

(23) As it will be mentioned in the section 3.6, the use of indicators has been the general approach followed to evaluate the performance of higher education institutions. An indicator is a measurement that should directly or indirectly reflect the degree of accomplishment of educational objectives. Therefore, an indicator is a good instrument of evaluation. The problem of setting a strategic evaluation system for universities is solved in this thesis by designing a prototype of an information system of indicators. In 1995 the Institute Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) required to design a new mission and a corresponding strategic plan. The author had the opportunity to work on this project as part of her doctoral project. As it was mentioned before, no adequate methodology was encountered to orient the Institute to what should be its fundamental objective, neither to seek the optimal use of resources. So, a method was designed and implemented at ITESM as a case study. Following the arguments sustained above, this method focuses on directing the institution to contribute to the development of its host country by utilizing its resources to a maximum extent in a desired strategic direction. It is also oriented to accommodate the teaching-learning process to the new demands of stakeholders and society in general. Thereby the method has the required characteristics. This method also belongs to a new planning approach developed by Peterson (1997) called contextual planning. This contextual approach expects the organization to be proactive in shaping the external environment. The method also incorporates, as it will be explained in section 3.4 and Chapter 4, the resourcebased approach, adapting it from the Strategic Management science to orient planning for an efficient use of resources. That is why this model has been entitled "resource-based contextual planning method". - Rooted in the conviction that the designer of an information system must fully comprehend the system that he or she is attempting to model and, if needed, have an influence on it, the design and implementation of this model is an important contribution of this Information Systems thesis work. The indicators information system mentioned above is, precisely, the assessment system proposed for this planning model. Besides, as indicators measure the degree of accomplishment of the actions -grouped in strategiesderived from the strategic plan, they could be called strategic indicators, thereby the information system is an.

(24) 10. information system of strategic indicators. All in all, the dissertation faces the problem of applying Information Technology to the following university's assessment functions: •. To support the management and administration by measuring the response of the university to the objectives settled in the Mission statement.. •. To measure if its resources are being used effectively and efficiently.. Such an evaluation is very helpful in the following aspects: •. Serving as a feedback to correct the actions that diverge from established goals.. •. Measuring if both a mission and its strategies are aligned and accomplished.. •. Demonstrating to society the university's accountability.. In synthesis, this thesis is centered in solving the following problems: 1.. Designing and implementing a resource-based contextual planning method.. 2.. Designing a prototype of an information system of strategic indicators to measure the degree of accomplishment of the strategic plan.. These designs contribute to the following fields: •. Universities' strategic planning.. •. Information systems aimed to strategic assessment of higher education institutions..

(25) 11. Chapter 3 Literature Review. As analyzed in the statement of the problem, this thesis is aimed to the design of a planning method and its corresponding assessment system. Since very different topics integrate them, table 1 schematizes the required theoretical framework is presented next.. Table 1. Literature review content based on the theoretical part of the thesis framework. Concerning literature. Part of the Thesis Resource-Based Contextual Planning Method. Definition of objectives. The fundamental objective of a higher education institution. Definition of mission and vision statements. Definition of a mission and vision for a higher education institution. Definition of strategies. Strategy, competition and competitive advantage The resource-based approach. Information system strategic indicators. of. Definition of the planning method Definition of the conceptual assessment system. Planning for higher education Social justification for the evaluation of universities Assessment systems for higher education. Definition of the information system. Strategic information systems. Each section of this chapter is dedicated to one of the concerning literature themes.. 3.1. Fundamental Objective of Higher Education This thesis defends that the contribution to social, economic and political development of the host country. must be counted as one of the fundamental objectives of a university. Although the Sociology of Education is a field out of the scope of study of this dissertation, with the sole intention to establish a background, this section briefly.

(26) 11. Chapter 3 Literature Review. As analyzed in the statement of the problem, this thesis is aimed to the design of a planning method and its corresponding assessment system. Since very different topics integrate them, table 1 schematizes the required theoretical framework is presented next.. Table 1. Literature review content based on the theoretical part of the thesis framework. Concerning literature. Part of the Thesis Resource-Based Contextual Planning Method. Definition of objectives. The fundamental objective of a higher education institution. Definition of mission and vision statements. Definition of a mission and vision for a higher education institution. Definition of strategies. Strategy, competition and competitive advantage The resource-based approach. Information system strategic indicators. of. Definition of the planning method Definition of the conceptual assessment system. Planning for higher education Social justification for the evaluation of universities Assessment systems for higher education. Definition of the information system. Strategic information systems. Each section of this chapter is dedicated to one of the concerning literature themes.. 3.1. Fundamental Objective of Higher Education This thesis defends that the contribution to social, economic and political development of the host country. must be counted as one of the fundamental objectives of a university. Although the Sociology of Education is a field out of the scope of study of this dissertation, with the sole intention to establish a background, this section briefly.

(27) 12. displays the theoretical and historical framework on which this position is based. A review of Mexico's higher education is included. 3.1.1. Historical Background of Higher Education Since the first one founded, University of Paris in the XII century, universities have been dedicated to. transmitting knowledge from teachers to students and to enriching knowledge through the practice of teaching (Durkheim, 1982). University was conceived from the beginning as "the only human association where people gather with the sole purpose of knowledge" (Lobkowicz, cited by Husen, 1991). Under this approach, the existence of universities is justified by their dedication to the search for truth. Still in the XIX century, the prevailing concept of university considered knowledge as a goal in itself (Husen, 1991). The idea of investigation and teaching as tightly related issues started materializing in the German universities with the creation of institutes and seminars around university classes, starting in this way the tradition of considering investigation as one of the basic functions of universities (Husen, 1991). At the beginning of this century universities worked as institutions in which professionals were formed for the State and the Church: lawyers, priests, and doctors. It is until the last decades of the XX century when universities assume as a responsibility the forming of professionals.. Nowadays a university degree is a. requirement for many jobs, transforming college education in an antechamber for many young people who wish to increase their possibilities of success in the work market. From a historic point of view, the idea that higher education might be related with economic development, income, and the work market is a recent conception. In general, it can be said that the link between higher education and economy is stated, in most countries, until the beginning of this century and mostly after the Second World War. In the past, universities were to fulfil ideological, scientific and political functions, but they seldom visualized the possible economical profits (Zuniga, 1994). According to Husen the modern university has the mission of attaining multiple objectives: to fulfill its traditional task of forming professionals, to level educational opportunities by extending the access to university for disadvantaged groups, to contribute in the explorations of the frontiers of knowledge by means of quality.

(28) 13. research, and placing itself at the service of economy with research that might benefit industry and national commerce. However, it is a natural tendency for the educators and researchers to feel an overriding obligation to contribute to the widening of the frontiers of knowledge, and this they consider as their proper and fundamental mission. From a pragmatic point of view, currently universities are dedicated to give students higher education and providing them with a professional degree; and to create, preserve or improve a model of knowledge (Touraine, 1972).. 3.1.2. Some Aspects of Mexico and its Education. Origin and development of higher education The university higher education starts in Mexico in the XVI century, when the Spanish Crown established the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico by Royal Certificate in September 1551. Classes started in 1553, consisting in six subjects: theology, Holy Scriptures, canons, law, arts, rhetoric, and grammar. The art course consisted of logic, mathematics, astronomy, physics, and natural science. Later a medicine program was created (Rangel, 1986). The university was denominated "Royal and Pontifical" because, like the rest of the universities in the Hispanic world, it was founded by concession of the King and the Pope. It was ruled by the University of Salamanca ordinances, and the Crown could take part through the Viceroy, the inspectors or the members of the Audience, to watch over its performance (Rangel, 1986). Afterwards, the Spanish Crown created other universities, as the Royal and Literary University of Guadalajara, which opened its doors in 1792, with four initial courses: canons, law, medicine and surgery (Rangel, 1986). It is proper to mention that in the beginning of university education other institutions of higher education existed, founded on different dates, and spread throughout a great number of settlements in the entire territory of the New Spain. The first one was the College of Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco, known as the first college in America,.

(29) 14. founded in 1536, only 15 years after the conquer of Tenochtitlan by the Spanish. This college, created by insistence of de Viceroy Fray Juan de Zumarraga, was dedicated to the superior teaching of the natives, and in its short life it was able to form a considerable number of humanists, who assimilated European culture.Other colleges were established at different times in several cities of the country, and they depended on religious orders: Franciscans, Augustinians, mercedaries, Jesuits, etc. The Jesuits alone had 24 colleges, 10 Seminaries and boarding school and 19 schools in the moment of their expulsion from Mexico in 1767 (Rangel, 1986).. Independent Mexico When Mexico started its independent life its population counted with 4,800,000 adults, of which only 30,000 could read; meaning that the illiteracy rate was 99.38%. This fact reveals the precarious cultural conditions and quality of life prevailing in the country when it became an Independent country (obtained from a study performed in Mexico for the UNESCO quoted by Martinez, 1992). It also shows the exclusive, unequal and therefore discriminatory nature of education prevailing during the Colony. After the victory in the independence war, the need to teach the population with the participation of the government became evident (Martinez, 1992).. Politicians as much as thinkers sensed the necessity to. permeate the young with feelings of loyalty towards the new country and to shape a national identity, thus creating a concept of nation. With the achievement of independence, a great optimism aroused from the Creole population. Their greatest project was organizing the New Mexican nation. A lot of tasks were to be done: Regulate the more adequate form of government for the population's idiosyncrasy, revitalizing commerce and mines, prepare the young for the administration of the new richness and freedom, and making the uncultured and impoverished masses behave properly to acquire loyalty to the nation, even in spite of the church (Stapples, 1992). In this quote it is possible to observe that the project of nation did not contemplate at all an integrated and equitable country. The root of this problem can be found in the fact that in Mexico, as in all Spanish America, the Government preceded the Nation; unlike the European countries which followed a long and slow process to achieve the constitution of the Nation-Government (Prawda, 1987). This gave place to very long.

(30) 15. conflicts, especially between liberals and conservatives. In the first years of the independent period, and before the liberal reform, two religious universities were founded: the one in Merida in 1824 and in Chiapas in 1826; both disappeared a few years later, the first in 1861 and the second in 1872. Through the ending of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX, three diocesan seminar schools were transformed into universities: Merida 1885, Mexico 1896 and Puebla 1907 (Rangel, 1986). Along the XIX century state governments created the so-called scientific and literary institutes, or civil colleges; established as non-religious institutions of middle education. In some places these civil colleges were created in parallel to the existent religious ones, or they replaced them by legal disposition (Rangel, 1986). The changing process took place during several decades, as a result of the transformation of the country through the century, and it responded to a purpose and an idea defined in relation to the function of education, conceived as an activity of public interest that the Government must organize and perform (Rangel, 1986). Ideological fight between conservatives and liberals. Facts on the beginning of the independent period In the second half of the XIX century professional schools were established in several regions of the country. The Organic Law of Public Instruction in the Federal District, proclaimed in 1867 and modified in 1869, is an expression of this tendency oriented to the creation of superior professional studies. This law promulgated the studies in legislation, medicine, agriculture and veterinary, civil engineering, topography of mines, mechanics and others. In some states of the Mexican Republic, the scientific and literary institutes and the civil colleges included this professional studies, specially medicine and legislation; in other states the professional studies were crated independently, but in all of them prevailed the same conception about the nature and character of the education at this levels (Rangel, 1986). The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, converted into Imperial and Pontifical during the Empire of Iturbide (1821-1823), went through a series of conflicts that lead it to the closing and immediate reopening in 1833, 1837 and 1861 until 1865, in which the emperor Maximiliano carried out the republican decree of 1857, thus disappearing this university. After the mentioned Organic Law of Public Instruction of the Federal District,.

(31) 16. high education was given in Mexico city in the superior schools, until the year 1910, with the inauguration of the National University of Mexico (Rangel, 1986). The long period of war of independence, which caused a great material losses; the disaster of the war against the United States in 1847; the French invasion in 1862 and the unending fights between conservatives and liberals, did not allow education to develop fully (Stapples, 1992 and SEP material, prologue from Puig, quoted by Martinez, 1992). "The price of the fight extended also to the ideological field in the form of a general confusion in which its sharp contradictions would not allow the rising of an ample and coherent plan about what the country should be in general, and even less about its educational aspects" (Martinez, 1992). The conflicts made the Mexican liberals see that freedom had to be conditioned until education changed the tradition. That is the reason they persisted so much in extending education and making it nonreligious (Prawda, 1987). Jose Maria Luis Mora was one of the few who grasped the importance and the urgency of an education plan with wide perspectives. Mora considered that the prosperity of the nation could only be attained when it could count with the active concourse of the majorities to construct a democratic state in its form of republican government. The action of majorities implied in it the clear knowledge of its duties and obligations towards their co-citizens and towards the nation. In order to obtain such objectives, the government should be the institution that ordered education for the majorities. The conception of what should be public education opposed monarchial education in regard that this last was aimed at a minority and because "instead of creating in the young the spirit of investigation and doubt that leads the human understanding to the truth, it has inspired in them the habit of dogmatism and argument that so much withdraws from truth in the purely human knowledge" (Mora, 1949, quoted by Martinez, 1992). Taking a leap in history, in the year 1910, another turbulent period starts with the Mexican revolution. At establishing the National University, Justo Sierra proposes in Mexico the first modern theory on university education; conceived as the culmination of Mexican education on the professional and degree teaching and investigation. The university was not viewed as a luxury to the country, but as the place to form the Mexicans, that would lead, from the directive levels, knowledge at the service of the whole nation (Martinez, 1992)..

(32) 17. During the time span referred up to now, the greatest worry of the Government in educational matters was to dispatch basic education to the majority of the population. Therefore the statement that education was not conceived as a luxury, but in reality, given the conditions of the country, was. Justo Sierra and Positivism For several years the National University maintained its place as the only high level institution offering studies corresponding to different careers. Until 1917 when the Michoacan University of San Nicolas de Hidalgo was created, in 1922 the University of Yucatan, in 1923 the Antonymous University of San Luis Potosi and in 1925 the University of Guadalajara (Martinez, 1992). Between 1930 and 1948 the universities of Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Sonora, Sinaloa, Guanajuato, Colima y Veracruz appeared. The rest were created after 1950. Through 1973 - 1981 the following autonomous universities were created: Ciudad Juarez, Metropolitan, Chiapas, the Agrarian "Antonio Navarro", Baja California Sur, Tlaxcala and Occident (in Sinaloa) (Martinez, 1992). The oldest private institution of higher education is the Free School of Law, established in 1912. In 1935 the Autonomous University of Guadalajara was founded; in 1943 the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, which is the case study, and the Latin American University, but most of the private institutions that work these days were created after 1960 (Martinez, 1992). In 1938 and 39 the Spanish immigration came, bringing numerous intellectuals.. The Federal. government with the participation of other institutions founded the House of Spain in Mexico, which was converted in 1940 into the College of Mexico, an institution that offers post graduate studies in the areas of linguistics, history, sociology, economy and demography, among others. The technical education of superior level has its origin in the times of the colony and performed in small scale during the XIX century; its development was achieved after the Mexican revolution. The need to project the benefits of technical teachings to the whole country lead to the creation of regional technical institutes that date from 1948, the same year in which the state of Durango was founded. By 1976 there were a total of 47, disseminated in several cities throughout the Republic. In 1937 the Federal Government created the Instituto Politecnico Nacional, an institution conceived as.

(33) 18. the culmination of a series of efforts made in the area of technical education; in which existing schools of higher were grouped, dependent of the Public Education Secretariat. In 1961 the Center of Investigation and Advanced Studies of the Instituto Politecnico Nacional, dedicated fundamentally to investigation and postgraduate studies. This center performs, since its founding, very high level tasks oriented especially to the formation of investigating professors in different scientific branches (Martinez, 1992). Several centers of investigation and higher learning have been created with the support of the Federal government; and in some cases with that of the states, as a part of the program called National Net of Specialized Units, of the National Plan of Superior Education. Some examples are the College of Michoacan, the center of Border Studies in Tijuana B.C.N. and the College of Baji'o in Leon Gto. (1979 to 1981) (Martinez, 1992). The Autonomy Concept The origin of university autonomy in Latin America is usually placed in the reform movement that took place in Cordoba, Argentina, in 1918. At that time, the rights of professors and students to rule the destiny of their own universities were proclaimed. Among the conclusions of the First National Congress of University Students, held in Cordoba in 1918, it was established that the school faculty board would be formed by representatives, in equal number, of professors and students (Martinez, 1992). That was the way in which administrative autonomy, the freedom for teaching and investigation and the co-government was obtained, through a movement whose ideological roots are placed in the XIX century liberalism, but oriented to achieve democracy for university education in institutions in which the colonial structure survived in some way, as much in its organizational aspect as in the contents of their studies and careers (Martinez, 1992). The first time higher education was understood as an activity apart from the government was with Justo Sierra, who was established as Public Instruction Minister the National University of Mexico (Martinez, 1992). The project for creating of the National University goes back, at least, to 1881, the year in which Justo Sierra publicizes several proposals. The first one proposes a project to change the law, in order to create the.

(34) 19. National University as an independent corporation. Subsidized by the State, constituted as a juridical person with complete legal capacity to acquire rights and obligations within the civil order and with full power to issue professional certificates. In his second proposal he clears up some questions, as the apparent contradiction of asking for the emancipation of teaching from the state by conceiving the university as a juridical person, and at the same time supported by the state. The European liberal parties considered that any decrease in the rights of the State in public education issues was a concession to the theological spirit. Taking this into account, Justo Sierra states that a university must be created, a private university, if not public, whose focus is different from the administrative one, but not contrary to it, thus the State and University gravitate towards the same ideal (Martinez, 1992). The project came to life 29 years later, in 1910, by Justo Sierra himself, and as he explained to the Chamber of Representatives, it was delayed because first they had to look after the problems of primary education, the development of the secondary education and professional education. As to the conception of the University, he stated: "Higher education can not have, as science does not, any another law than method. This will normally be out of the reach of the government, meaning that the faculty because of their knowledge will form this group which will be called the National University (and as seen in Mexico, has occurred everywhere). It will be in charge of dictating its own laws, and rules according to its scientific direction. This does not mean that the government can neglect them, or prevent them from obtaining knowledge, nor giving up, for the good of the State, the right to give them final approval. With this first principle of autonomy, limited to the scope of academic activity and investigation, the National University of Mexico started its functions. Later other autonomy concepts emerged, translated into laws and decrees. The most recent law was written in the university itself and promulgated with a few modifications in 1944. According to the 1 st Article of this law, the university, was named National Autonomous of Mexico, "is a public corporation, an organization decentralized from the State, endowed with whole legal capacity..." (quoted by Martinez, 1992). From that moment the tendency to grant autonomy to universities is generalized throughout the country due to the modification of their law or because they were created autonomous..

(35) 20 Usually the fundamental characteristics of university autonomy are considered to be the following: (Martinez, 1992): •. University's Government. The university freely designates its authorities; it can organize as it judges best, it can issue for this purpose its own rules within the borders established in the law.. •. Academic activities. The university imparts its teachings and carries out its investigations according to the principle of freedom of teaching, and designates its academic personnel.. •. Finance. The university freely administrates its wealth and determines its budget. It obtains contributions from the public sector (federal and state governments).. •. Autonomy's scope. Autonomy means internal freedom and its limits are established by the laws that govern the national lifestyle.. University Types Mexican education is ruled by the dispositions in the 3rd Article of the Political Constitution of the Mexican United States, its statutory law, the Federal Law of Education and the Law for the Coordination of Superior Education. According to the 3rd Article of this law, "the type of higher education is the one taught after bachelor's degree or it's equivalent. It embraces technological and university education. It includes short professional careers and studies leading to the obtainment of licentiate, master and doctorate degrees, and courses of actualization and specialization. According with the prevailing legislation, higher education institutions are divided in public and private, and each group is subdivided by characteristics of legal nature: •. Public Autonomous Universities. Created by a legislative action of the Federal Congress or the State Congress. They are organizations decentralized from the State, with their own legal personality, with the ability to designate their own authority, to decide their own plans and study programs and use their resources.. •. Public State Universities. Created by the State Congress. They are public organizations with a legal personality, they can be decentralized from the State, and the State intervenes in some way in the.

(36) 21. designation of their authorities. They generally can determine their academic activities. •. Institutions that Depend on the State. The government creates them and they are usually centralized. They coordinate with the Public Education Secretariat on academic matters.. •. Private Free Institutions. They have recognition of the official validity of their courses through an express agreement of the President. "They freely prepare the study plans, programs and teaching methods; but they can not carry them out without the previous authorization of the Public Education Secretariat" (5th Article of the regulation for ratification of Degrees and Titles thrust by Free University Schools).. -. Private Institutions. Recognized by the Public Education Secretariat, by the governments of the states or by decentralized organizations of the State. The Recent Mexico "The inequality and the conflictive relationships that affect cultures and their development do not cross. clearly through the line dividing tradition and modernity. They have more to do with the distribution of power and wealth, the differed access to resources; in short, with the process of accumulation and redistribution. Some might say that these concepts are out of fashion. It can be, but the facts remain anyway you want to call them. I am not the kind of person that sticks to the old names, if you tell me the new ones I will gladly use them from now on" (Warman, 1992, p. 204). Since the times of the Colony, backwardness and inequality have accompanied the history of Mexico. Although basic education has advanced considerably, higher education suffers from severe criticism by many Mexican intellectuals (see for example Prawda, 1987, Rangel, 1986). In almost two centuries of independent life, this delay has not been wholly overcome (Prawda, 1987), to reaffirm this statement it is enough to observe the economical indicators. The fact is that the delay, specially political, cultural and economic, prevails and may be bigger every day. Developed countries don't stop their evolution to wait for the underdeveloped ones, and given the actual conditions of globalizationin the world, especially the decision taken to form a part of this globalization by opening the commercial boarders. Now an excessive competition is experienced that confronts not only the local markets but also the international ones..

(37) 22. As the capability of producing technology has not been developed, the scientific and technological dependence grows, and each time increasingly expensive technology must be obtained in order to compete with the industry of developed counties. This generates expenses and therefore debts and interests, and each day the moment of a stable development seems farther. Japan, less than fifty years after World War II, after being devastated physically and morally, has become one of the main economic powers of the world. Israel is another good example, also with less than 50 years since its formation as a nation now has progressed impressively. This refers to cultures with deep roots and shows that development does not require much time. With almost two centuries of independent life and at less than one from suffering a revolution that was the last great chaos lived by the country; Mexico has not reached full development. This speaks of a society that perhaps because its diversity and lack of identity or culture, or whatever reason; doesn't know what it wants, or rather, doesn't know what it needs to evolve. This present lack of development shows, that if the leaders that have conducted the course of the nation have graduated from Mexican universities, the role that these institutions have played have not been wholly effective, or they have not assumed their obligation completely. Thereby their contribution has been poor or incomplete. For these reasons the raison d' etre of universities, or their fundamental goal that is perceived as obvious in the ones founded by the State is helping the country to progress. Nevertheless, the irrefutable fact is that the essence of universities is teaching. The reason that leads to this conclusion is that if the "business" of universities is the concentration and distribution of science and culture, then this resource has a better and more important use to the nation to have an effective impact on the challenge of overcoming the poverty. What about private universities? They emerge to support the government in its labor of supplying higher education, in fact the only function that needs certification from the State, through the Public Education Secretariat, is making study plans and programs for the courses that compose it, as well as their completion. By assisting the State in offering education, private universities must also assume the same commitment to society..

(38) 23. 3.1.3. Relationship between Higher Education and the Development of a Country The importance of this subject resides in the fact that it is not possible to aim the actions of universities. towards the accomplishment of operational objectives without taking into account the context of the country in which they are located. In this thesis the fact that all universities, public and private, must aim towards the same fundamental objective - to contribute to the development of its host country - and that the way to accomplish it is the only variable, will be defended. Society invests important resources in universities, which concentrate the intellectual assets of the country. Many countries live cultural, social, political or economic crises. In the light of these facts, it is impossible to think of an institution of higher education as a provider of teaching and preparing students with the only purpose of obtaining their professional degree. The sole transmission of knowledge found in textbooks does not help as it should in the development of the country, nor would it be fair to society that universities maintain areas of specialization that do not stimulate economical, social or political progress. For the purpose of this thesis, the development of a country will be defined as the improvement on the quality of life of its population. This including the physical, mental and spiritual health conditions in which people live, and the preservation and improvement of their environment, and the pacific, cordial and fair coexistence among the members of society. The development of a country doesn't incorporate economical development only, there are many known elements, and still others to determine the influence on the evolution of a society. Nevertheless, because of the way the history of nations has unraveled, the economical factor plays a more important role than the other factorsJhat affect the quality of life. Because of this argument, it is necessary to highlight some aspects of the economy-education relation: Nowadays the economical growth problems, the opportunities to generate and obtain better jobs and the international competition depend on the way in which the relationship between economy and education is conceived (Easton and Klees, 1990, Ibarrola, 1988). The economical progress of our countries increasingly stands on the capacity of its higher education systems and investigation to supply the high level resources and to produce the knowledge needed for the operation of more open, complex and integrated economies in the.

(39) 24. World (Brunner, 1990b). To these ideas, Tedesco (1989) adds that strengthening scientific capacity, promoting the formation of highly qualified resources and producing the knowledge required to solve social and productive problems is essential to the economical development of a country. However, the relationship between higher education, economic development, labor market, and industrial productivity is not as obvious as it seems (Zuniga, 1994; Tedesco, 1989). The link between education and economical growth, measured in terms of gross internal production growth rate, exist. So the essential problem is not determining the existence of this relationship, but establishing the causal link between both terms (Zuniga, 1994). Observance has shown that as the gross internal product of a society grows so does the supply and demand of higher education. It is not possible to state precisely whether the nations are rich because they have more and better universities or the nations have more and better universities because they are rich (Zuniga, 1994). Different analysts indicate that the real effect of higher education is measured in terms of private (individual) profitability and not in economically positive social impact. In this sense, the observers from the member countries of the OCDE insist since the end of the seventies that the reduction of social disparity through higher education, is more an exemption than a rule. They agree with the sociological theories that state that higher education instead of diminishing social differences has reinforced them (Zuniga, 1994). Besides, higher education has not proved to be a factor of social mobility as it is believed, given that the persons who have access to this kind of education have enough resources (social, cultural, economical, etc.) to live in a comfortably to start with (Prawda, 1987). As Durkheim (1982) points out, "Art, science and studies in general are, in a certain way, luxury occupations that demand an energy surplus that goes beyond the immediate needs for living. In order to devote to the activities of free and pure thinking, there has to be an available energy reserve that exceeds the claims of the existing difficulties. When this reserve exists, since it does not need to be used externally, it transforms into an interior life of, thought and reflection". According with these theories, only a fraction of society has access to higher education and is benefited.

(40) 25 by it. On the other hand, science, technology and knowledge in general that can be generated in a university will enhance basically the sector of society that has enough cultural and economical level to obtain the benefits derived from the intellectual activity of the university. With respect to these ideas, it can be established that the university, people who have access to it, and its products form an almost closed system. A society that has satisfied its basic nutrition, health, education and housing needs will surely have the opportunity to have a higher education. It is highly possible that a society of this kind has developed more extensive and deep knowledge. In this case, universities can give up the "luxury" of enlarging or specializing their knowledge, since their basic requirements are covered. Indeed, most of these countries are so developed that, the enrichment of almost any field of knowledge represent a contribution to their progress. On the other hand, a society lacking in its basic needs must seek platforms that trigger their progress, and they can find an alternative in their universities. It means that for developing countries, it means that universities should determine the priorities of development of their host country to focus their efforts on these fields. 3.1.4. Fundamental Objective of a University: Summary An important concept of this dissertation is that, especially for developing countries, a university should. maintain explicitly in its fundamental objectives being, the contribution to the progress of the country. The underlying assumption is that institutions will have a greater impact on a country if it is their explicit purpose rather than not. Besides, the frontiers of the benefits spread by the university could be opened, if it is deliberately planned and specific actions are taken to fulfill this intention.. Relation between objectives and accountability As mentioned above, universities are organizations that provide higher education and that spread and enrich science and knowledge. If this broad concept is not clearly specified, it is impossible to come up with a clear definition of what the university is accountable for, and it makes planning difficult because of a lack of specific and clear goals to be reached. The premise that supports this idea is that the fundamental objective of a.

(41) 26. university should constitute its basis for accountability given that stakeholders spend resources in supporting universities. A way to pay society for its investment is by demonstrating the kind of contribution universities make to the development of a country.. A way to concrete the contribution to development A way to define the purpose of a university is by analyzing the challenges the host country faces as to which university could and wants to have an impact, converting them into educational proposal and translating it into terms of creation and promotion of knowledge, skills and values. Because of its concentration of intellectual resources, a university must be able to focus on those challenges and contribute to the development of its region and thereby to the nation by providing distinctive products. As examples: competitiveness in a global context, committed graduates, and research and extension directed to social, political and economic progress.. The relation established between universities and. development is justified, among others, by the following rationale: In any nation, but especially in developing countries, the scarce resources devoted to education represent an investment that must yield an improvement in the wealth and living conditions of society at large. This implies not only an increase in productivity, but also an active promotion of general welfare. A university responds to the higher educational needs of the nation. Since its graduates will form part of the country as a whole, the social function that the university fulfills plays a mayor role, having a great impact on the country's economic, social and cultural development. As a final remark, because of the concentration of intellectual resources, universities could be seen as the nucleus of contribution to science and knowledge. Efforts should be made to focus this precious jewel in improving life conditions of people, including productivity and cultural aspects, the one that primarily affects the basic survival needs in a healthy and peaceful environment.. 3.1.5. The Objectives of Higher Education in Mexico Currently, the evolution of higher education in Mexico has lead to have organic laws in public.

(42) 27 universities indicating without exception that the purposes of these institutions are: •. Supply higher education.. •. Research.. •. Spreading culture, which, for the effect of this thesis is called extension.. The fulfillment of these purposes corresponds to the particular characteristics and conditions of each institution, but their definition proposes the orientation that must activate each of these actions, in the social and participation sense, to solve the national problems (Rangel, 1986). In these legal dispositions several formulas are used which can be grouped the following way: •. Imparting education with social responsibility in conscience.. •. Forming professors and instructors in the scientific and cultural disciplines more strictly related to social and economical development, regional and national.. •. Forming human resources for the direct benefit of the population and for the independent economic progress of the nation, with social justice and in freedom.. •. Studying the current problems of human coexistence especially in Mexico.. •. To foment human solidarity.. •. To inculcate in the students and graduates a commitment to service and social solidarity.. •. To contribute through education to the social, economic, scientific, technical and cultural progress and independence.. •. Fomenting and carrying out scientific research, preferring those who tend to resolve the state and national problems.. •. Extending the benefits of culture.. •. Promoting the use of scientific knowledge in the solution of the state and national problems to improve the life conditions of the population.. •. Constituting the university as a change agent, helping the cultural, economic, and social development of the state and nation..

(43) 28. Unfortunately, it has not been possible in all the cases to put into practice these principles stated in the organic laws, so they remain as ideals (Rangel, 1986). Since 1950, universities and institutions of higher education are grouped in the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Superior Education (ANUIES for its initials in Spanish), an organization created by these same institutions. In the document approved at the XVIII ordinary meeting of the General Assembly of this entity, celebrated in 1978, a distinction is established between the objectives of higher education and the basic functions of this kind of education (teaching, research and cultural diffusion). To locate this difference, the reference document states that it is necessary to place the higher education system in the social and economical reality of the country and determine the role it plays in the historical development of the nation. This definition is established considering the following aspects (Rangel, 1986): •. The Mexican higher education institutions are part of social formation and, together, they constitute a super-structural system required and necessary for the working and development of society.. •. The higher education system, although related with the productive system and the social structure in Mexico, has not yet completely adapted to the concrete requirements of the productive sectors and the needs of the different sectors to accelerate the development of a national education, scientific and democratic.. ANUIES documents (cited by Rangel, 1986) state that Mexican higher education is destined to achieve the scientific and technological sustaining of the country. It is conceded with public funds almost entirely, it is granted with legal capacity to form highly qualified human resources. As a last resort; the State, representing and directing Mexican society, protects the higher education system with politic a judicial measures to make sure this institutions fulfill their basic functions, develop their formative areas and carry out the objectives of higher education (Rangel, 1986). Once the characteristics in which Mexican higher education take place have been specified, its objectives are determined as an ideal for every university in Mexico (Rangel, 1986): •. To be an essential and permanent component of development and independence of Mexican.

(44) 29. society. •. To participate efficiently in the fortifying of the national capability to assimilate and produce scientific, technological and other kinds of advance and incorporate them to the progress of the country.. •. To contribute to increasing the production in its diverse sectors, to the adequate exploitation of natural resources, to the obtainment of a fair distribution of richness, and to a rise in the life level of the population.. •. To help actively to the expansion of educative, social and assistance services in order to achieve the integral and humanized development of the individual on effective bases of social freedom, security and solidarity.. •. To commit, without limitation, to the shaping of an authentic civic conscience and to assure the democratic participation of the citizens in public decisions.. •. To participate in the transformation of the present society so that the country, still keeping its national character in the international relations, adapts to the changes that occur at this times and those that the future imposes.. These six objectives must be fulfilled through the undertaking of the basic functions of higher education. In this sense they are what must transform this functions into specific activities related to and identified with the national reality. The achievement of this objectives is the fundamental purpose of the plan of higher education (Rangel, 1986). Due to the difficult circumstances prevailing in the country, which were aforementioned, these objectives are well formulated under the criteria ruled by this document, because they signal the commitments that will be adopted through a course of action for each of the great challenges the nation faces. These six objectives can be summarized in the next sentence: To contribute to the social, economic, political, and cultural development of the nation through teaching, research and diffusion of culture. In this thesis, this synthesized objective is called: Fundamental Objective of Higher Education in Mexico. Taking these commitments to practice is another of the challenges that must be faced. As pointed out,.

Figure

Table 1. Literature review content based on the theoretical part of the thesis framework.
Table 1. Literature review content based on the theoretical part of the thesis framework.
Table 2. Strategy paradigms during the ages.
Table 3. Kinds of evaluations carried out in higher education.
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